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The Chicago Fire Department promotes fire safety, provides emergency care and puts out fires. It is one of the largest fire departments in the nation. There are an estimated 5,000 firefighters in the city, according the department’s website. The department is divided into four bureaus: operations, administrative services, logistics and fire prevention. In 1833, the city had volunteer firefighters. In 1858, the City Council established an organized and paid fire department. Thirteen years later, the Great Chicago Fire would make headlines all over the world. On Feb. 14, 1980, firefighters went on strike for 23 days after Mayor Jane Byrne failed to deliver on a campaign promise of their first written contract. In 1991, long before the show “Chicago Fire,” the fire department cooperated with the making of the film “Backdraft,” directed by Ron Howard and starring Kurt Russell, William Baldwin and Robert De Niro.

Related "Chicago Fire Department" Articles

A man was hospitalized in good condition after being rescued Monday afternoon from the Chicago River in the Loop, officials said.
Chicago Fire Department personnel responded near LaSalle Street and Wacker Drive at 2:34 p.m. for a person in the water,...

Firefighters quickly squelched a blaze late Thursday inside a condo on the 87th floor of the Hancock Center, a Chicago Fire Department official said.
There were no reported injuries in the fire that broke out just after 10 p.m. in a residential area of...

A man was found dead in a building that caught on fire Tuesday evening in the South Austin neighborhood on the West Side, authorities said.
The blaze started on the first floor of a two-story residential building in the 400 block of North Leclaire Avenue...

No one was injured in a fire in a high-rise apartment building in the Edgewater Beach neighborhood Wednesday morning.
Chicago fire crews responded to a report of a fire in a 28-story building about 9:50 a.m. The alarm was struck out about 10:25 a.m.,...

Three people suffered minor injuries in a fire at a Near West Side apartment building Thursday evening, a Chicago Fire Department spokesman said.
The fire in the building at 150 S. Campbell Ave. was called in about 5 p.m., and fire officials called an...

A pilot is being evaluated after his small plane slid off the runway at Midway Airport on Monday afternoon, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
The pilot, the only person on the plane, was described as “just shook up’’ and was being evaluated by...

A man was found dead inside a building that burned early Sunday in Chicago's West Rogers Park neighborhood that left at least one other man critically hurt, officials said Monday night.
The victim, a male whose name was not immediately...

At least six ambulances were sent to the scene of a fire that broke out at a high-rise building Saturday afternoon in the city's Near North neighborhood.
An emergency medical services plan 1 was called at the building at 1531 N. Clybourn Ave., which...

Firefighters battled a stubborn blaze at a West Side commercial building Thursday night.
The fire at 1414 S. Western Ave., which began about 7:30 p.m., was largely confined to a one-story loading dock area attached to a four-story brick building, said...

Chicago police and paramedics are having the same issues navigating the city as everyone else – side streets aren’t plowed and the snow often sits higher than the bottom of cars.
“We haven’t had any issues I’m aware of other than the fact it’s a pain...

A fire in a garage Thursday evening in the Logan Square neighborhood knocked out Comcast cable and Internet service to about 4,000 homes and businesses, officials said.
The fire, which began about 6 p.m., was confined to a two-car garage behind a home in...

A woman was killed and a man was critically injured when their Lexus veered off Lake Shore Drive and flipped over on a frozen lagoon in Lincoln Park early Monday morning.
Police were called to the 2200 block of North Lake Shore Drive around 1:45 a.m....

A man was injured when a fire broke out at an apartment building in the Albany Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side early Thursday, authorities said.
The blaze started around 1:30 a.m. in a three-story building in the 4000 block of North Mozart...

One person was hospitalized after jumping from the roof of a West Pullman home during a fire early Monday.
About 12:25 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire in the 11500 block of South Lafayette Avenue, said Chicago Fire Department Chief Juan Hernandez....

Three people, including a toddler, were hurt in a fire that erupted in a building on the West Side early Friday morning, authorities said.
The blaze started around 1:30 a.m. on the second floor of a 2-1/2 story building in the 100 block of North...

A woman died in a fire that erupted in a building in the East Chatham neighborhood on the South Side early Sunday morning, officials said.
The blaze started on the third floor of a partially occupied three-story courtyard building around 1:18 a.m. in the...

A firefighter was injured while battling a blaze in the Cottage Grove Heights neighborhood on the Far South Side early Saturday, authorities said.
The fire started sometime after midnight in a two-and-a-half-story building in the 9800 block of South...

Chicago firefighters were at the scene of an extra-alarm fire that broke out late Sunday afternoon on the upper floor of an Old Town neighborhood highrise building, said officials.
At least five ambulances were sent to the building located at 1540 N....

A man in his 60s was found dead after a house fire in the Calumet Heights neighborhood Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The man was found dead in a home in the 9100 block of South Crandon Avenue after emergency crews were called to the scene about...

Scott Schaben started working as a suburban firefighter in the 1980s, bonding with his co-workers over off-duty beers. But his social drinking turned compulsive after he went through a divorce a few years ago, consuming his life until he knew he needed...